It's Pronounced With an Okka
by sifuXANA
Summary: Just weeks after Fire Lord Ozai's defeat, Sokka has a reunion of sorts. Oneshot-please review! Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.


Just a few weeks after the war's end, Sokka and his "friends" were gathering once again in Iroh's tea shop. "Friends" was in quotations because Katara, Toph, Zuko, and Aang were teasing him mercilessly, yet again, about his latest disastrous date with Suki. Sokka scowled and made to step out onto the porch.

"Wait, Sokka," Zuko said, in that breathless tone everyone gets after they've been laughing uncontrollably. "I've actually got something for you."

"Let me guess, let me guess," Sokka retorted. He waved his hands around expressively. In his case, he wasn't trying to express anything, but he'd seen people doing it and it made them look intelligent. He sighed. "A knuckle sandwich. It's too kind of you, Zuko. But I really was hoping for something made out of meat."

The young Fire Lord snorted. "Very funny." He turned around and said to Iroh, "Uncle, could you bring the package?"

Iroh nodded, set down his mug of tea, and produced a long and rather bulky package from behind the counter.

"What's that?" Sokka asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Unwrap it, Lunkhead," suggested Toph. Helpfully, as always.

Sokka undid the wrapping of the package and produced—

"My space sword!" he squeaked. "Oh, I thought I'd lost you!" He planted a kiss on the hilt. "But—"

"I sent some scouts out to find it after the war," Zuko explained.

Toph pointed a finger to her chest. "Yeah, well, _I_ straightened out the moon rock blade."

"Don't forget me!" Katara cut in. "I cleaned it up for you."

Aang looked around, and then shrugged. "I didn't do anything," he said.

Sokka couldn't help the enormous grin that was spreading rapidly across his face. "Thanks, guys!" He chirped. "But…" his face fell just an inch. "You didn't find boomerang?"

Right on cue, Iroh brought out another package—a boomerang-shaped package. Sokka ripped off the wrapping with the ferocity of a wild Komodo Rhino. Unfortunately, his eagerness did not last.

Zuko was the first to offer his condolences. "I'm sorry, Sokka."

Wearing a childishly sorrowful expression, the Water Tribe warrior held the mangled remains of his trusty weapon up to the light. "Aw, _boomerang_!" he groaned.

"Boomerang was there for you until the very end," Aang said.

"Yeah, Sokka," Toph chimed in. "Boomerang never let you down."

"Once boomerang hit me in the back of the head," Zuko added. "It hurt."

Even Katara was smiling now. "Boomerang was always faithful. May its memory never fade."

Sokka had been genuinely upset, but now he had an idea; a grin spread across his face. "Guys! We should give boomerang a memorial service!"

The Avatar was the only one to agree. The others exchanged looks, while in the background Iroh chuckled.

"No, seriously! I mean it. We couldn't have disabled all those Fire Nation airships without Boomerang. It deserves a memorial!"

No one was convinced, but from the counter Iroh spoke up. "Why not honor those who have assisted you in the past?"

"Uncle!"

"It isn't even alive," Katara argued, always the logical one. "What about all the people who died in the war?"

Toph crossed her arms. "This is a total waste of time. I'm _not_ helping."

_**/./././**_

The funeral service was held behind the tea shop, in a small plot of dirt that Iroh had wanted to plant a garden in. It was decided that the Dragon of the West would say a few words. Then, Toph would earthbend a deep grave to serve as Boomerang's final resting place.

"Maybe it's a good thing we didn't call ourselves the Boomeraang Squad," Sokka mused.

"Yeah, that would have sent a real positive message," Toph grumbled. Aang's earthbending lessons had paid off: he was a real expert in arguing with an earthbender.

"We gather here today," Iroh began, "to honor a companion, a loyal servant who fought bravely against our enemies. The greatest gift is a friend at your side in times of need. Boomerang has been more than just a weapon: Boomerang has been a true friend, and today we recognize this by mourning its loss."

Sokka wiped a tear from his eye. "That was beautiful," he professed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Toph muttered. With one lazy movement, she created a hole the size of a small dragon. Sokka cringed as he dropped his beloved Boomerang into the earth. It was a long time before a crunching sound floated up.

Toph left immediately after closing the hole up again, but the rest of the gang hovered around the grave. Zuko cracked a smile. "Not the most, uh, respectful burial."

"Hmm."

"Come on, Sokka. Let's go back inside and have something to eat."

"I just made some of my famous jasmine tea," Iroh coaxed. "And we could play pai sho!"

With one last look at Boomerang's burial spot, Sokka said a silent goodbye to his favorite weapon. A delicious smell was wafting from the tea shop, prompting his stomach to growl, and he could already see Aang rummaging around for the pai sho board. Space sword was gleaming on top of the counter. They teased him mercilessly at times and he jabbed back at them with sarcasm. Sometimes they doubted him, sometimes they couldn't take him seriously, sometimes he felt that they overlooked him. But now, Sokka realized as he marked the ground with a small twig, none of that meant very much in the end. So he turned back to his friends-and this time, he really meant friends.

"Hey, Sokka! Is it really true that you got _two_ fishhooks stuck in your thumb?"

Well, scratch that last part.


End file.
